As a platform for picture, video, and story sharing, Instagram is one of the most popular visual social media apps out there.
There are over 500 million active users on Instagram daily! What’s more, there are 200 million businesses on Instagram—that’s a lot of competition!
With eCommerce becoming so popular and with the holiday season rapidly approaching, it’s important to reach as many clients as possible with your social media. That’s why you should consider creating themed templates to improve your posts and boost efficiency during Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and the whole slew of winter holidays!
Why Use Templates?
Posting regularly to your Instagram page is a great way to promote your brand, but creating so much content from scratch can be time consuming. Custom brand templates will streamline the production of new posts, while maintaining originality and relevance, saving you so much of the time spent on repetitive customization.
Templates don’t have to be complicated, and you can create them with free, user-friendly tools like Canva. All you need to do is format your template to the correct dimensions for Instagram, include your brand’s color palette and logo, and prepare some space for text and photos. BOOM! Now you can simply insert new text and photos for continuously eye-catching Instagram posts.
Additional holiday-themed templates—featuring seasonal colors and festive visuals—can help you save time during those busy months, by promoting your holiday sales while maintaining fresh, engaging content. Not to mention, they will retain relevance, and you can use them year after year.
Save Images Ahead of Time
Templates can help reduce the time spent formatting, but let’s examine how to save time in your search for photos as well. Planning ahead and saving useful pictures can be a lifesaver.
There are several online platforms that offer thousands of free, open-source images. Check out Pixabay, Pexels, and UnSplash. These free photo libraries are great for simple pictures of landscapes, objects, and activities related to your holiday content—think snowmen, Jack-O-Lanterns, or people shopping online. You can easily find these and a whole variety of content. Just remember: don’t use the same stock photos multiple times.
If you will be promoting a holiday giveaway, raffle, or other competition of some kind, plan ahead: collect photos of the prize or reward, and add it to a template.
Finally, make sure you have some holiday pictures of your office and your team (no late Season’s Greetings Cards this year!)
Use Posts and Stories
Standard timeline posts won’t disappear and are a hub for meaningful viewer engagement. Because holiday promotions won’t always maintain relevance, posts may not be the best way to share them with your followers. Stories however, being wide-reaching but short-lived, are a great way to promote special events and limited time offers.
Additionally, stories allow you to share different tips, events, discounts, and rewards in a series, making it easier for viewers to get lots of information quickly throughout the day.
One third (1/3) of the most viewed Instagram stories are from businesses, so don’t ignore this incredibly effective marketing element, and be sure to create templates with stories in mind, as well!
The holiday season is an essential time for business; don’t let yourself get bogged down by tedium. With branded templates and curated photos, you can create properly formatted stories and posts that will keep your Instagram viewers engaged, while saving you time.
Need assistance managing your social media presence? Let us help! Reach out and schedule a meeting today!
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